Members of the Wildcat Pride Marching Band were as dominant last week in Dallas, Texas, as Oklahoma State University was on the football field. Band members competed in the Heart of Dallas Bowl Music Festival Dec. 30 and returned with first-place trophies in four categories — Field Show, Marching Percussion, Concert Band and Jazz Band. Two other awards also were received for Outstanding Drum Majors and Outstanding Color Guard. “We’ve never won in all our categories,” remarked Bill Schaffer, band director at Wright City High School. “Our students did a really good job performing. When you spend a whole year fundrasing (for an event), you hope it goes well.” Schaffer noted that approximately $60,000 was required for the trip. Going into the competition, Schaffer said he felt his students had a strong chance to be among the top schools in the contest. In previous contests, Schaffer said his students have placed first in “two or three of four” categories, but this was the first time the Wildcat Pride Marching Band earned top honors in all categories. “We’ve got a much stronger band (this year) than in the past,” Schaffer remarked. “This is, by far, the most competitive marching band we’ve had in awhile.” Since the Wildcat Pride Marching Band earned the highest score in the Field Show category, the band performed during the pregame show of the Heart of Dallas Bowl with the university marching bands from Oklahoma State and Purdue. The drum line also was chosen to participate at halftime with the entire massed band. “This was, by far, the best trip I’ve ever been on,” stated Drum Major Rebekah Nadler. “It was really neat to march in the Cotton Bowl stadium.” “I fulfilled my dream of conducting in front of such a large crowd,” commented co-drum major Tayeb Ihekoronye. The sheer size of the venue in which they performed awed Drum Major Shannon Karney. “I couldn’t comprehend the size of the stadium,” she remarked. Schaffer stated that he felt the biggest challenge the students faced was participating in all the competitions in one day, because the musicians have to “shift gears” mentally. “They played a lot of music in the space of one day,” he said, noting that the various selections were “completely different” stylistically. But Schaffer added that he worked to prepare his students for the challenge. “We put in a lot of time working on the mental adjustment aspect,” he said. Selections performed by the marching band, concert band and jazz band included: “Liberty Bell March” by John Phillip Sousa; “The Witch and the Saint” by Steven Reineke; “Escape From the Darkness” by Robert W. Smith; “Hypnotica” and “Heart of Courage” by Thom Bergeson; “Remorse and Redemption,” an original composition written by Schaffer; “Lux Aerterna” by Clif Mansell; “Killer Joe” by Benny Golson; “Dara’s Dream” by Mike Lewis; and “Birdland” by Josef Zawinul.